Permanent Residence application

Hi everyone,

I did not manage to find the info I am looking for by search, so decided wo ask if anybode has similar experience. It would be great if somebody could help with the following three questions:

1) Documents for application
I am married to Japanese, but I am in Japan on working visa, with the longest possible term of 5 years. I would like to apply for PR based on the marriage, as it has shorter time requirement. In addition, most of my stay in Japan I was student, and have been paying taxes for only a couple of years, so I am not sure if student years are counted for 10 year requirement.
In the Immigration home page, they have slightly different application documents written for [Spouse] and [Worker] visa holders. I was wondering, which guideluine I should follow.

2) Tax payment requirement
In case like mine, do you know if there are any requirements, for how long you should have worked and paid taxes in Japan, for how long you should have worked in one company etc, or all they look at is whether you have a stable income?

3) Bank passbook copy
Is it required, or just a guideline?
Whe opening account, I opted for the electronic one, which has the info only form last two months, so I am not sure if that would be accepted.

If you have been married to you Japanese wife long enough, and stayed in Japan long enough (I believe studying doesn't count, but not sure), then you should have a good shot at getting permanent residency; I believe the limits are three years married, one year in Japan, but might be inaccurate.

In my case, I applied after having stayed in Japan for 2.5 years (working full-time at a single employer this whole time), and being married for about six years at that time. We have two kids, too, which probably made things smoother. Still, the processing took six months -- no requests or other communication during that time. I think my bank balance was not submitted with the other papers, only tax and such; wouldn't hurt to submit too much (supporting) information...

Thanks!

That is very reassuring to hear!

By the way, when you applied, did you submit the letter of reason or went without it?
(From a quick skim o the document list, requirement for the letter is the only major difference between applying as a worker or as a spouse)

You can always try to apply for permanent resident status.
But since you have a working visa and not a spouse visa I do not know if this will shorten the time to obtain the permanent status. On paper you are married but you do not have the correct visa.

Best is to ask immigration if having a working visa once you married can shorten the time for applying.

At least you can apply both, spouse visa and apply for permanent resident status. at least you will get a better status with spouse visa if you do not have the right requirements yet for a permanent status.

Again you are free to apply.

Always fill in as much as documents as possible even if you think sometimes it is not needed. I have filled in the reason form.

I am married to Japanese, but I am in Japan on working visa, with the longest possible term of 5 years. I would like to apply for PR based on the marriage


Sorry, I doubt you are eligible.
I got mine last year. I was on Highly Skilled Professional Visa (3 years on that status, with working visas before that), with over 9 years in the country, working for one of the top universities in the country. I had been married to a Japanese for 6 years at that point.

I was told very clearly that because I was not on a spouse visa, then my marital status was irrelevant. I didn't have 10 years, so my application was initially rejected by the first (regional) office I went to. I filled in a form documenting my "contributions to Japan", and it was accepted at Shinagawa.

Thanks to everyone for your replies.

It seems that this application to PR is even more complex than could be imagined even after reading about that.
I even found somebody mentioning other guy in similar situation applying and getting the PR, which is a different outcome than mentioned here.
I wonder if it has something to do with details of each situation, or even if it is dependent on which office you apply to (Seems that Shinagawa might be a better bet).

So far, seems that the conclusion is to apply with as much documents as possible and see what happens.

On the side note, does anybody knows, whether Japan's PR is more difficult and complicated to get than in other countries?

http://kaikokusai.com/newpage58.html
http://osakavisa.com/visa/eiju/900/

http://www.moj.go.jp/ONLINE/IMMIGRATION/ZAIRYU_EIJYU/zairyu_eijyu01.ht...
６　直近（過去１年分）の申請人又は申請人を扶養する方の所得及び納税状況を証明する次のいずれかの資料
(1)　会社等に勤務している場合及び自営業等である場合
(2)　その他の場合
since you are working, you are (1). you don't need to show a copy of bank statement.
if you have no job, you are (2). you need to show a copy of bank statement.

you are requested to show the last year's income by official document.
you can get 納税証明書 at city office. the document must show your total income and the tax amount you paid.

FWIW there is nothing in the actual legislation about the necessary residency period to obtain PR, which is probably why experiences vary.

For that matter, there isn't much about anything, other than saying it must be "appropriate".

@ken The text you quoted is for people on spouse/child status (申請人の方が，「日本人の配偶者等」又は「永住者の配偶者等」の在留資格である場合). The relevant one for OP is http://www.moj.go.jp/ONLINE/IMMIGRATION/ZAIRYU_EIJYU/zairyu_eijyu03.ht...

Do note that the text in those pages is for information only and has no legal value.

Thank you very much for the detailed information.
I got much more educated about this complex world of PR.

http://kaikokusai.com/newpage58.html
if this information is correct, OP can apply as a spouse, while in working status.
「日本人の配偶者等」を持つ方はもちろん、他の在留資格を持って滞在している方にも該当します。
「日本人の配偶者等」への在留資格変更をすることなく、「技術」のまますぐにでも永住申請が可能です。
必要資料についても一般の就労資格からの永住申請とは異なり、「日本人の配偶者等」からの永住申請の際の必要とされる資料（随分と簡素化されています。）を提出すれば足ります。

By the way, when you applied, did you submit the letter of reason or went without it?

Yes, my wife actually wrote it for me in Japanese. Standard reasons include wanting to settled down with the family and wanting to buy a house

I was told very clearly that because I was not on a spouse visa, then my marital status was irrelevant.

I never had a spouse visa, just a plain 5-year engineer visa. Having stayed only 2.5 years in Japan at the time of application, it was clearly being married to Japanese national that got me my PR.

You can apply under marriage visa only if:
-You are married for more than three years
-Lived in Japan for at least one year with your Japanese spouse
-Obtained 3 years extension visa under marriage visa

Question: about bank book.
-Not required but can be given as a supporting document. However, you should have a very decent amount of money (savings) otherwise it will a minus in your application.

Years spent as student: don't count when applying under marriage visa or working visa either

Years spent under work visa: count when apply for PR under working visa only.

In your case, you have a higher chance to be accepted under working visa not marriage visa because you obtained the 5 years extension under working visa.